Recognizing Warning Signs

Sometimes major disasters are foreshadowed by minor indicators. Whole houses have burned to the ground prior to owners ignoring brief whiffs of smoke. While traveling through the Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania this week, I met a middle-aged couple eating breakfast. Travelers from distant places filled the dinning room, but this couple was from the local area.

“Why are you staying here?” I inquired upon learning they lived only a few miles away. The woman replied between bites of Cheerios and a bagel, “We are here because of what happened when we remodeled our house.”

I wondered what on earth she meant.

She continued, “We live in my childhood home and much of it needs repair, especially the back deck.  So, we hired workers to re-stain it in a beautiful rosewood color.  They completed the project, but unfortunately left a heap of rags covered in stain on the deck.  The next day, I noticed a strange odor coming from outside, but assumed it was the pile of rags."

Have you ignored what seemed to be small warning signs?  Did you later learn that these were indicators of impending disasters? Maybe the neighbors’ newspapers have not been picked up for the last several days, a strange car repeatedly drives around the neighborhood, or a friend looks sadder than usual. All of these could portend a bigger problem. This was the case with the middle-aged couple.

Unbeknownst to them, the pile of stained rags combusted into a small fire that grew into a large fire. Flames leaped from the deck eventually consuming one third of the house. Finally, she realized the house was on fire and dialed 911. The rest of the house was saved. Fortunately, no one was hurt including their dogs.

The gift for today was listening to this woman. Normally I would have focused on my breakfast. How many times have I been too rushed to listen? It may not have seemed like much to me, but to her it meant everything for me to listen to her story.

In Giving and Listening,

Robin